Obama Campaign Plans Bid to Capture Women’s Vote in November - Bloomberg
President Barack Obama’s re- election campaign is planning to seize upon the recent partisan bickering over health care, contraception and abortion to garner the women’s vote in the November presidential election.
The Chicago-based campaign plans a “Nurses for Obama” event March 13, including mailings in many states and 16 phone banks in New Hampshire to urge support for the health-care overhaul law signed by the Democratic president almost two years ago, according to a campaign official, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about campaign strategy.
The campaign website gives details on the benefits of the health-care law, a frequent target of Republican candidates who say it should be repealed, including requirements that new health insurance plans cover women’s preventative services, mammograms and birth control pills.
The women’s vote is important to both parties because, since 1986, women have voted more than men, at least in congressional races, according to Census Bureau figures. In the 2010 midterm elections, 42.7 percent of eligible women voters cast ballots while 40.9 percent of the men did so,
The special focus on women in the days ahead, first reported by the New York Times and confirmed by an Obama campaign official, follows confusion created by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney over his stance on whether employers can opt out of health-care coverage involving contraception.